Mounds of tuber trash in New Braunfels spurs weekly cleanup

Updated 1:40 pm, Friday, August 8, 2014

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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The amount of litter collected from scuba divers on the Comal River on Aug. 7, 2014. Every Thursday, divers remove litter from the bottom of the river. The total count was 168 bags or about 341 pounds.

The amount of litter collected from scuba divers on the Comal River on Aug. 7, 2014. Every Thursday, divers remove litter from the bottom of the river. The total count was 168 bags or about 341 pounds.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Waste collected after the most recent July 4th weekend.

Waste collected after the most recent July 4th weekend.

Photo: City Of New Braunfels, Courtesy

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Waste collected after July 4th, 2013

Waste collected after July 4th, 2013

Photo: City Of New Braunfels, Courtesy

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Waste collected after July 4th, 2012

Waste collected after July 4th, 2012

Photo: City Of New Braunfels, Courtesy

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Waste collected after July 4th, 2011

Waste collected after July 4th, 2011

Photo: City Of New Braunfels, Courtesy

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Waste collected after July 4th, 2011

Waste collected after July 4th, 2011

Photo: City Of New Braunfels, Courtesy

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Waste from the 2014 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Waste from the 2014 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Waste from the 2014 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Waste from the 2014 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Waste from the 2013 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Waste from the 2013 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Waste from the 2012 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Waste from the 2012 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Waste from the 2011 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Waste from the 2011 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Waste from the 2012 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Waste from the 2012 Memorial Day Weekend cleanup.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Trash and litter collections from the months of March through June since 2011.

Trash and litter collections from the months of March through June since 2011.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Trash and litter collections from the months of March through June since 2011.

Trash and litter collections from the months of March through June since 2011.

Photo: Courtesy/City Of New Braunfels

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Mounds of tuber trash in New Braunfels spurs weekly cleanup

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SAN ANTONIO – The trash attacking the rivers that flow through New Braunfels never stops.

Every Thursday, scuba divers literally get to the bottom of the situation by cleaning up the litter that tubers leave behind on the Comal River.

Michael Mundell, solid waste manager for New Braunfels, said scuba divers remove about 150 pounds of litter lying on the river bottom every week on average.

On the weekends and holidays, Pristine Texas Rivers, contracted by the city, removes litter and trash around the high-traffic areas as well.

"They cover everything from emptying trash cans to scuba diving," Mundell said. "They service it often enough to keep the pileup down."

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He added that scuba divers do not clean the bottom of the Guadalupe River because has poor visibility.

Mundell said the contract started in March with above-water cleaning, and the initial scuba dive clean is in April. Weekly scuba dive cleanups start in May, and continue until the final dive in October.

During the fall and winter, city personnel maintain above-water trash and litter, he said, although trash and litter hardly pileup.

The Comal and Guadalupe Rivers took a beating this summer, cleanup crews removed an estimated 31,178 of trash, or waste properly disposed in approved containers, and 11,127 pounds of litter, or waste improperly disposed on the ground or river, from March through June.

During that time period, the amount of litter has increased by 84 percent and trash by 26 percent from last year, according to a news release from the city of New Braunfels.

Mundell said although tubers would like to keep the amount of litter under control, it still ends up piling up somehow.

"Everybody tries to do the right thing, they try to get the message out," he said.

The amount of trash and litter collected overall has increased since 2012, the first summer of the city's "can ban" initiative to decrease the amount of litter on the river.

The law, which prohibited disposal containers on portions on the rivers, was implemented after 2011's summer, deemed "River Wild," because of the substantial amount of litter, arrests and drownings at the river.

That summer, the estimated trash collected weighed at 60,378 pounds, and litter weighed at 57,743 pounds.

A river services update released July 28 states $70,439 has been spent so far this year for river cleanup, about 39 percent of the budgeted amount.